Goal

I stood on the terraces at Bloomfield Road at 2.30 this afternoon wondering what to write my Goal blog about. By 3.45 I knew it wouldn't be about Blackpool FC as we had just put in one of the most inept performances I have ever witnessed - no obvious tactical strategy, no togetherness, no fight. We were second to everything and 1-0 down to the Wombles. Surely the manager would sort it out at half-time. The second period couldn't be as bad? Well, of course it could, and it was. We were a shambles and by 5pm we were 2-0 down, second from bottom of the league and the fans were chanting for the manager to get sacked. At 7.30 this evening came the formal announcement that Steve Bruce and his coaching staff were gone. Thank goodness for that. However, it's all too painful to dwell on Blackpool's plight tonight, so I'm switching play with a magnificent cross field pass...

...to the first extant record of the word Goal in English. That can be found in a poem by William de Schorham, a 14th century cleric from Shoreham and vicar of Chart Sutton in Kent, from around 1325. It appears in verse 46 of his long religious poem written in the Kentish dialect of Middle English, 'Fools think there is no God, Heaven, or Hell':

(46)
])a3 hy nabbe ende ne for]}e gol,
Jet ouer al he hys y-hol,
WyJ)-oute drede ;
Nau3t o del here, anofer fere,
Ase great body, as hyt were,
J)at al by-3ede.

There it is written 'gol' and there has been much debate over its meaning. Take your pick from any of the following interpretations: boundary, domain, limit, obstacle, target.   

Its use in footballing parlance probably most closely allies with domain, where the act of firing the ball into something symbolic of the adversaries 'domain' had by the 16th century become known as gaining a goal. Posts, nets, a goal line and VAR all followed on later.

That early provenance got me to wondering if, 700 years after William de Schorham, the town of Shoreham-by-Sea (population some 20,000)  actually has a football club. Indeed it does.

Shoreham FC ground

It was founded in 1892, its nickname is the Musselmen, after the town's ancient mussel picking tradition, its home ground (capacity 2,000) is Middle Road as pictured above, and the club currently plays in the Southern Combination Premier Division (a feeder to the Isthmian League) in the ninth tier of English football.

Shoreham FC is a club on the up. It has reached the second qualifying round of the FA Cup twice since 2010, the third round of the FA Vase six times and in the 2022-23 season it was the last unbeaten team in England at any level, not losing a game until the end of February. That record-breaking season saw it winning Division One of the Southern Combination which clinched its promotion to the Premier Division. Its next ambitious goal would be promotion to the Isthmian League.

Shoreham FC players celebrate a goal

All of that is a far cry from the woes of Blackpool FC languishing one place off the bottom of the third tier of English football tonight. It's a shock and a shame that my main team, supported since I was a lad and the reason I now live in the town, is doing so unaccountably badly. It makes my role as the club's supporters' liaison officer particularly tricky at the moment. It is also little compensation that the other teams I follow (Arsenal in the Premier League, Coventry City in the Championship and Grimsby Town in League Two) are all flying high at the top of their respective divisions this week-end.

I've no new poem today. Instead, here are links to two football related poems I've written in past blogs. The first  is my homage to Blackpool, the town and its football club: Jewel Of The North The second was prompted by an earlier blog this week about England winning the 1966 World Cup: Giving Birth In A Time Of World Cup Just click on the links.I hope you will enjoy them.

By the way, in case you're interested, Shoreham FC lost 7-0 away to Eastbourne this afternoon, the Musselmen comprehensively outmuscled in front of a crowd of 225. So it goes.

My goal's beyond. Thanks for reading, S ;-)

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Goal!

In football it’s an old saying that goals win games. How many times have you seen a game where one team has all the possession but fails to score and the other team has one chance, takes it and wins the game. Some games are like this but sometimes late winning goals are much more significant.

One such game occurred on May 26th 1989 when Liverpool played Arsenal to be First Division champions. It was a game between first and second with Arsenal three points behind Liverpool and needing to win by two clear goals to become champions. Liverpool needed a draw or a win to become champions. At 90 minutes Arsenal were leading 1-0 which was enough to hand Liverpool the title.

However, after a Liverpool attack breaks down the Arsenal goalkeeper throws the ball to Dixon who sends a long pass to Smith who passes the ball on to Michael Thomas who charges into the Liverpool penalty area. Thomas waits for the Liverpool goalkeeper to commit himself to a save and Thomas lifts the ball into the net. The Liverpool ground exploded into chaotic celebrations. Arsenal scored their second goal at 90+2 minutes thereby winning the game and becoming First Division champions for 1988-1989 season.

Michael Thomas winning the 1989 League Championship for Arsenal at Anfield

Some say the significance of this game was that it rescued English football from the misery of football hooliganism, the Heysel and Hillsborough tragedies and paved the way for the formation of the Premier League three years later in 1992.

Another such game was the 1999 Champions League final in Barcelona between Bayern Munich and Manchester United. Going into the game United were on course to win the Treble as they were already Premier League champions and had won the FA Cup as well. However, in the final after 90 minutes, United were 1-0 down and 3 minutes of time were added on. United had a corner which Beckham sent into the Bayern penalty area. This was poorly cleared and Giggs sent the ball back into the Bayern goal area where substitute Teddy Sheringham put the ball in to the Bayern net.

The goal was timed at 36 seconds into injury time. Thirty seconds after the restart United forced another corner which Beckham sent into the Bayern penalty area finding the head of Teddy Sheringham who nodded the ball across the face of the goal. The second United substitute Solskjaer reacted quickest and prodded the ball into the back of the Bayern net. The second United goal was scored with 43 seconds of the game remaining.

Many of the Bayern players were so distraught to have lost the game in such a fashion that they could hardly restart the game. Shortly after the game was over, United were European champions and became the first English club to achieve the Treble, winning the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup in the same season. The Treble winners also confirmed their domination of English football winning their last Premier title in 2013 when manager Sir Alex Ferguson retired from the game after 26 trophy laden years.

Manchester United, European Champions and treble winners in 1999

Perhaps the most famous and iconic game in Premiership history occurred when Manchester City played Queens Park Rangers (QPR) at home on Sunday 13th May 2012. City went in to the final match on the final day of the season as Premiership leaders from arch-rivals Manchester United on goal difference. Manchester United were playing away at Sunderland. City needed to match or better United’s result at Sunderland. Additionally, QPR needed a draw to escape relegation from the Premiership.

As luck would have it, QPR were leading 2-1 after 90 minutes and there were 5 minutes of added time to play. Despite nearly constant pressure, QPR hung on until the second minute of added time when a Silva corner was headed in by the City striker Edin Dzeko headed to make it 2-2. By this point news came through that results elsewhere meant QPR were safe from relegation but also that United had beaten Sunderland and as things stood United were going to be league champions. City needed to another goal to become champions.

In the 94th minute City forward Balotelli despite being on the ground passed a ball to striker Sergio Aguero who ran further into the QPR penalty area and unleashed a savage shot that flew into the back of the QPR goal. The Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler roared simply “Aguerooooo” as the ball hit the back of the net and the stadium erupted into emotional chaos. City had won their first Premiership title and won their first league championship in 44 years under manager Roberto Mancini.

"Aguerooooo" winning the 2012 League Championship for Manchester City

The significance of this game, and this goal in particular, is that City under new manager Pep Guardiola from 2016 would go on to dominate the English game. Since 2016 City and Guardiola have won 18 major trophies including winning the Treble of the Premier League, the FA Cup and the European Champions League in 2021 equalling Manchester United’s Treble in 1999. City are only the second English club to complete the Treble.

GOAL!

Five minutes left to play
two goals down are they
going to throw it all away

Come on, come on, we need
a goal, just one more goal
to ease our aching desperate soul

A loose ball, a bad clearance
it’s in the back of the net, it’s
called perseverance

Three minutes left, keep on
Up the attack, no holding back
just pressure, pressure, pressure

Bad tackles, desperate defending
the noise is unrelenting, just hit the
shot, give it all you’ve got

Aguerooooo!


With thanks to Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler for the iconic “Agueroooo”.

And thank you to you for reading. Please leave a comment as they are always appreciated.

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GOAL!

On the 30th July 1966 I was sitting in the front room of our house watching the tv alongside 32.3 million other viewers in addition to the 96,924 at Wembley stadium. I was really surprised when I was checking the numbers to discover those figures of almost 97,000 and that the viewing total made it the United Kingdom's most-watched television event ever.

I’m talking, of course, about the FIFA World Cup final between England and West Germany, with England winning 4–2 after extra time.

I can still remember the England team managed by Alf Ramsey:
Gordon Banks; George Cohen, Jack Charlton, Bobby Moore, Ray Wilson, Alan Ball, Nobby Stiles, Bobby Charlton, Martin Peter, Geoff Hurst, Roger Hunt.

England 1966 World Cup Winners

I can manage Tilkowski, Schnellinger, Beckenbauer, Haller, Weber, Overath, Seeler and Emmerich of the West German side.

I can remember some of the moves, especially when England were 2-1 up and one minute from the World Cup when Jack Charlton fouled Germany's skipper Uwe Seeler and all the red shirts of England lined up against the white shirts of West Germany on the edge of the area. Wolfgang Weber scored. I couldn’t believe it.

I remember the amazing scenes after the final. The players jogging round the beautiful green Wembley pitch, the colours of the flags and banners. I raced out the back, I’ve no idea why, and saw our next door neighbour working under his car. I told him the result and he said “that’s nice, pass me that spanner”.

I remember so much of that game quite clearly. And I am wrong.

I’m wrong because the game was only broadcast in black and white.

I can only presume that my memories have been altered by the watching of GOAL! the official FIFA film of the whole competition which went out to cinemas shortly afterward. I must have seen it at the Odeon in Sheldon, Birmingham.

GOAL!

I would certainly have wanted to forget it as now I’m remembering how I really thought it was a terrible film. All fancy camera angles, jumpy narrative, awful music, accents of a lost time.

In 2002 someone named Rick posted that:
‘In the sixties this was possibly a mediocre film of our greatest football year. Thirty years later however Goal is as collectable and nostalgic as Charlie Chaplin or Laurel and Hardy in that it takes us back to a distant era totally alien to anyone below the age of 35. Granted the football coverage isn't great but that isn't what Goal is all about (in 2002 anyway) - watch the opening sequence and listen to the music and you'll get my gist, this is classic stuff perfect for post pub, late evening viewing with a few mates.

But it doesn't stop there, the one liners are stunning and pregnant pauses the work of an unknowing genius - it sounds like the bloke from the clangers. The tension is built slowly and the description of the various teams and their various Stars as they disembark their planes at Heathrow keeps you smiling. If you love football, and have a sense of humour you will treasure this film and get excited every time you show it to unwitting friends. A three word summary - Hilarious, nostalgic, genius’.

Completely off topic but there is a ball from the Wembley game in the National Football Museum in Manchester.

Paul Cookson did have an idea to celebrate 1966. He wanted to get 11 poets to write 11 poems about the team of ’66. However, he couldn’t get a publisher or sponsor interested, so in the end he wrote a series of poems himself. He says that they are everyman recollections that try and capture something of the men, the magnitude, the mood and the memories. You can click on the names on the image to see the poems at this link: 1966 World Cup England Team

George Cohen before the 1966 World Cup Final

Almost Forgotten
( For George Cohen )

Almost forgotten
But you were there.

You may not have scored the three goals
You may not have scored the other goal
You may not have been dramatic in your exploits

But you were there
Solid and dependable

Not so much what you did
But more what you stopped them from doing
Without you it would not have been the same

A link in the chain
A brick in the wall
Part of the process
Integral to victory

Your place in history secure
Forever a World Cup winner
Forever a hero

Your heroics may be unsung
But you were there

And for that alone
We all wish we could have been you
And been in your boots that day
The day that you were there

                                          Paul Cookson

Thanks for reading, Terry Q.

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Goal!

Final Score: Blackpool 1 Barnsley 0

What a goal! It was worth freezing in the rain for that winning thriller that brought a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye. Thank you, Jordan Brown - sorry, Barnsley.

A football match can work me up into a passionate frenzy, as those who were with me when Manchester United won the Treble can testify. I was born in Sale into a Manchester family of MUFC fans. My grandfather had known one of the Busby Babes and often spoke of the Munich air crash. Like many girls my age, I had a teenage crush on George Best. I cried when he died. I cried when England's David Beckham got sent off in the World Cup - petulant boy. I was so cross with him! I wept with joy when Ryan Giggs scored 'that' goal. Tears streamed when Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down from management. Love him or hate him, it marked the end of an era. The Fergie Years, probably an unmatchable achievement, would go down in history.

Attending Bloomfield Road, supporting my home team, I manage to keep my lady-like composure most of the time, even when I don't agree with a referee's judgement.

Away from football, personal resilience and strength has taken a hit recently and as we work our way back, plans have had to be rearranged, new goals have been set. A newly decorated lounge has given us enough confidence to continue those skills into other rooms with the aim of our house being ready to go on the market early next year. I will complete the grandchildren's Christmas jumpers by mid-November. My birthday will pass quietly. Christmas will look after itself. We will bounce back, eventually. 

Sadly, I will miss Tuesday evening's home fixture against Luton. I'll be supporting from afar and hoping for Blackpool goals. If Jerry is playing, I hope he is kind.

A poem that gives me inspiration,

Still I Rise

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

'Cause I walk like I've got oil Wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops,

Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don't you take it awful hard

'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines

Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I've got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame

I rise

Up from a past that's rooted in pain

I rise

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I beat in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear

I rise

Bring the gifts that my ancestors gave

I am the dream and the hope of the slave

I rise

I rise

I rise

                             Maya Angelou

Thanks for reading, Pam x

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